Flush valve for toilet flush tanks



March 20, 1956 w. v. ALLIN FLUSH VALVE FOR TOILET FLUSH TANKS Filed Aug.25, 1951 March 20, 1956 w. v. ALLIN 2,738,516

FLUSH VALVE FOR TOILET FLUSH TANKS Filed Aug. 25, 1951 2 Shears-snee: 2

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United. States Patent O Fl-.UsH VALVE Fon TOILET FLUSH TANKS Willard v.Allin, Kansas City, M0. Application August 2S, 1951, Serial No. 243,614

1 Claim. (cl. 4 51) This invention relates tolnew and usefulimprovements in nsh valves, and relates lparticularly to a flush valvesuitable for use in 'connection with a toilet bowl of the type receivingits operating charge of water by gravity from: a tankrdis'posed abovethe closet bowl.

In the common type of household toilet installation, the water'close'tIreceives water from a tank disposed thereabove, through a tubular iiushconnection extending from tliebottom of the tank to the water closet.Water is maintained `normally at a predetermined level in said tank by awater line controlled by a oat valve. The flush connection is controlledby `a manually operable ush valve including a vertically seating buoyantvalve member held against a valve -seat by the water head in the tank,'but adapted when lifted olf said seat to float until the water levelfalls `to `a point permitting the valve to return toits seat. The valvemember is normally mechanically guided, usually by an upwardly extendingrod attached 'thereto and disposed slidably in fixed keepers, or byother means. Due to the lightness and necessary fragility of thepa'rtsof such g'uide means, they are subject Ato easy bending and otherdamage, which renders them inoperable, to the annoyance andinconvenience of the users. Also, these lguide parts are normallysubmergedin the tank, and subject to corrosion, which weak- 'ens theparts and roughens sliding surfaces so thatvthey cannot functionefficiently.

The principal object of the present invention is the provision of tiushvalve overcoming the above difficul- `ties, having a buoyant plug memberwhich is substan- 'tally without 'mechanical guides, `having onlyilexible members such-las light chains rattached thereto.

Another object is the `provision of a ilush valve of the class describedwherein the flow of the water passing through the valve is utilized toguide the plug member to its seat.

A further object is `th'e provision of a llush valve of the 'class'described having a buoyant plug member to which is l'fixed one 5end of`a lexible member which hangs through Vthe lvalve seat and to theopposite end of which is at- "faclid n'e or more members presenting aresistance to Vthe vflow-of water, whereby lwhen said plug is raised andwater ws through said seat, `said water will exert a teilsion onsidilexible `r'ner'nber to guide ,said plug back to said seat.

` Other objects are simplicity and economy of construc- 'ti'm efficiencyand dependability of operation, and adaptability -forV use withvirtually any pre-existing water closet and ush tank installation.

With these objects in view, `as well as other objects which vvill:appear 'in the "course of the specication, reference will bel-had tothe drawing, wherein:

. Fig. l is a froitlevatonal view vof a toilet llush tank in wliichfisinstalled a liush valve embodying the present ICC Fig. 5 is anenlarged longitudinal section of the lower end portion of the guidechain and the llow resisting members.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on line VI-VI of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a view smilar to Fig. 5, showing flow resisting members of amodified form.

Fig. 8 isV a sectional view taken on line VIII-VIII of Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 5, showing flow resisting members of asecond modified form.

Fig. l0 is a sectional view taken on line X-X of Fig. 9.

Like reference numerals apply to similar parts throughout the severalviews, and the numeral 2 applies to a flush tank `ot` the usual design.Said tank is commonly rectangular in form, made Vof a ceramic materialand having a removable cover 4, and mounted on a wall 6 above and behindthe water closet 8, shown fragmentarily. Water under pressure enterssaid tank through a pipe 10 extending through the bottom wall 12 of saidtank through a water-tight seal 14 provided therefor. Said pipe isprovided at its inner end with a float controlled valve 16, which inturn delivers water to the tank through discharge pipe 1S. Said valve isof standard design, and need not be detailed here. It is operated by abuoyant oat which oats at the water level 22 in the tank, said floatopening the valve whenever the water falls below a predetermined level,and closing the valve whenever the water rises to said predeterminedlevel.

The flush valve body 24 isessentially tubular in form, extending throughthe bottom wall 12 of tank 2 and'having a water tight seal providedthereabout by a gasket 26 and nut 29. Said valve body is formed at itsupper end to present a 'frusto-conical valve seat 28 for receiving thespherical valve plug member hereinafter described. A tub'ular elbow 30is interconnected at its upper end to the lower end of valve body 24 bya watertight connection 32, and is interconnected at its lower end towater closet 8. Valve body 24 is also `provided with a lateralpassageway 34 interconnected with the main passageway thereof below seat28. An loverilow tube 36 is interconnected at its lower end withpassageway 34, and extends upwardly above the normal water level of tank2. Said overflow tube directs water to water closet 8 in the event thattloat controlled valve 16 should fail to close properly. Also, a smalltube 33 is connected at one end to the discharge side of valve 16, anddischarges at its opposite end into the upper end of overflow tube 36.Tube 33 directs a small stream of water through tube 36 and thence vtocloset bowl 8 after the ush valve is closed, and as long as valve 16 isopen. This provides adequate water to reiill the lcloset bowl after eachHush.

The iiush valve plug 4i) is spherically ball shaped, made of rubber orother elastically deformable material, and is hollow whereby to providebuoyancy. lt is of a diameter to rest in valve seat 28 as shown in Figs.l and 2. A pair of perforated tabs 42 and 44 are formed integrally withball on diametrically opposite sides thereof. A light chain 46 or otherexible member is secured at its lower end to tab 42 by ring 48, andextends upwardly above the normal water level in the tank, beingconnected'at its upper end in one of a series of longitudinally spacedholes 50 formed in a generally horizontal lever 52, by means of a hook54. Said hook may be engaged in any link of the chain to vary theeffective length of said chain. The length of the chain should be suchas to be slightly slack when plug 40 is seated, as shown in Figs. l and2. Lever 52 is pivoted intermediate its ends to a fixed support arm 56carried by tank 2. by pivot pin 58. The opposite end portion `60 isengaged slidably by a pin 62 iixe'd in an arm 64, said arm in turn beingfixed to a shaft 66 extending through and carried for axial oscillationin the front wall of tank 2. An operating lever 68 is secured to theouter end of shaft 66. When lever 68 is turned manually, lever 52 willbe pivoted upwardly to exert tension on chain 46 and lift plug 40 fromits seat. Lever 52 and its operating means are standard, and hence neednot be fully detailed here.

A light chain 70 is attached at its upper end to plug tab 44 by means ofring 72 and depends downwardly through valve seat 28 into elbow 30. Apair of iiow resisting members 74 are secured in spaced apart relationto the lower end portion of chain 70, as best shown in Figs. 5 and 6.Each member is substantially conical, with its axis disposedlongitudinally of the chain and with its apex toward plug 40. Eachmember is provided with eyes 76 secured therein for connection in chain70.

The operation of the ush valve is substantially as follows. The partsnormally have the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The valve plug ball40 is held on seat 28 by the pressure of the water head thereover, thispressure being suilicient to overcome the buoyancy of the plug ball. Thepressure beneath plug 40 is atmospheric, this space being vented to theatmospheric through the water closet and through overow tube 36. Whenthe operator turns lever 68 and pivots lever 52 upwardly, chain 46 liftsplug ball 40 clear of seat 28, allowing water to iiow therearound. Theball thus relieved of the pressure of the water, is caused by itsbuoyancy to rise to the surface of the water in tank 2, and waterimmediately ows through seat 2S and elbow 30 to water closet 8 bygravity. Chain 70 is of such length that it hangs well down into elbowwhen plug 40 has risen to its maximum elevation, as shown in Fig. 3.

The current of the water flowing through elbow 30 impinges againstmembers 74 carried by chain 70, thereby exerting and maintaining atension on chain 70 which keeps plug ball i0 substantially in alignmentabove seat 28 and guides said plug ball as it falls with the waterlevel, in order that it will engage said seat properly when the waterfalls to a certain minimum level above the seat. Chain 70 will bemaintained taut by the water flow even after the members 74 have beencarried around the bend of elbow 39. This may cause an angularity ofchain 70 relative to the axis of seat 28 which will move plug ballslightly off center relative to said seat as it approaches the seat.This is not objectionable, however, since the plug is spherical and willrock into the seat.

Flow resisting members 74, as shown in Fig. 5, are conical. Theirconical shape has been found useful in tending to keep them centered inelbow 30, and to prevent their lateral fluttering or oscillating whichmight cause objectionable rattling noises in the event they shouldstrike the walls of elbow 30. Also, it is desirable to make members 74solid, as shown, whereby substantial weight is imparted thereto. rTheincreased weight has been found to reduce the possibility that on fastoperation chain '70 may be jerked entirely out of the valve seat beforewater fiow therethrough is established. In many instances the iiushconnection exemplified by elbow 30 is of suhcient length that chain 70may be entirely contained therein. However, in certain instances theflush connection may be short, or virtually of no length where the tankis mounted directly on the water closet. In those cases chain 70 mayhang within the water passages of the toilet bowl itself. In mostinstances this will not impede the operation of the device, members 74being small enough to nass freely through the toilet bowl passageways.

However, in certain instances, it may be desirable to move the flowresisting members adjustably along chain 7d, in order that they will bepositioned properly below seat 23 when the valve is opened, or toprevent their entry into the toilet bowl itself. Figs. 7 to 10 show twomethods of accomplishing this adjustability. In Figs. 7

and 8, each flow resisting member 77 comprises a at circular disc havinga cylindrical central hub 78 which fits slidably over chain 70. A pin 80may be inserted through said hub and selectively through any link ofchain 70 to hold the flow resistor on said chain. In Figs. 9 and 10,each flow resisting member 82 is conical :smilarly to those shown inFig. 5, but is formed of Isoft rubber or other similar material. Eachmember has an axial hole S4 formed therethrough, said hole being of suchsize that when chain 70 is forced therethrough, the material adjacentsaid hole will be deformed and will grip the chain frictionally, and themember can be slid along the chain to any desired position. It is ofcourse apparent that any number of flow resisting members which may bedesirable can be attached to chain 70.

Thus it will be seen that a flush valve having definite advantages hasbeen produced. The plug ball 40 has none of the ordinary sliding guideswhich are subject to corrosion, bending, or other damage. It isconnected only to flexible chains 46 and 70, which permit its freemovement at all times it is not actually seated. The entire structureexcept ball plug 40, the chains attached thereto, and the ow resistingmembers attached to said chain are standard. The ball plug and itsattached chains and flow resistors may be produced as a unit andinstalled in nearly any toilet installation using a ilush tank, withalmost no alteration.

While I have shown a specific embodiment of my invention, it is apparentthat many minor changes in structure and operation could be made withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined in theappended claim.

What I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

A ush valve for use in connection with a toilet installation including aush tank normally containing water up to a certain level, a flushconduit extending between and interconnecting the bottom of said flushtank with a water closet, an upwardly opening valve seat surrounding theentrance to said flush conduit, and a vertically movable operatingmember carried in said tank above the normal water level therein, saidush valve comprising a buoyant plug adapted normally to be helddownwardly in said seat to close the same by the water head in saidtank, a exible elongated member secured at its lower end to said plugand adapted to be secured at its upper end to said operating member,whereby said plug may be lifted from said seat, whereupon said plug willfloat upwardly to the surface of the water in said tank, a secondelongated flexible member secured at its upper end to said plug andadapted to depend therefrom through said ush conduit, said secondflexible member being of sufficient length to hang downwardly throughsaid valve seat when said plug is oating at its maximum elevation, and aplurality of enlarged ilow resistant members of conical shape secured inlongitudinally spaced apart relation to the lower end portion of saidsecond flexible member, said ow resistant members being formed of anelastically deformable material and each having a hole formedtherethrough for slidably receiving said second flexible member, saidholes being of a size whereby said flexible member is frictionallygripped by said ow resistant members.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 369,843Douglas Sept. 13, 1887 422,961 Morrison Mar. 11, 1890 2,155,902 KassApr. 25, 1939 2,230,613 Deady Feb. 4, 1941 2,251,357 Harroun Aug. 5,1941 2,372,848 Owens Apr. 3, 1945 2,514,062 Hoerig July 4, 19502,599,940 Rickena June 10, 1952

